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POSTED UNDER Breast Implant Revision REVIEWS

PLEASE Read Entire Review Before Choosing Dr Hochstein to Do Your Surgery - Miami, FL

ORIGINAL POST

I had surgery with Dr Hochstein a couple years ago...

heather722
$5,500
I had surgery with Dr Hochstein a couple years ago to switch out my implant size and would give anything to go back in time and choose another surgeon. I flew into Miami the day before I scheduled the surgery and met with him for my preop. At the time I had 300/315cc implants and was currently a size 30C. I told him I would like to be a smallD-regD. I emphasized that I did NOT want to be a full D or DD. I had done a lot of research prior to my surgery and went into the preop thinking that I wanted to get app 400cc implants. Dr H keeps stressing how that wasn't going to be big enough to get from a small C to a reg D and how he would need to use a 500-550 implant to do so. I took his advice and went with the smaller recommendation of 500. He cleared me to fly back across the country one day after surgery and never did any kind of postop care after that. With the 500cc implant, I am popping out of 30DD bras!! My boobs are way out of proportion to my body and everything that I did not want.
Like many other reviewers have said, if you are unhappy with your results HE CHARGES YOU TO FIX IT!! This is ridiculous. And whenever he speaks to you he is so condescending and arrogant and blames everything on the patient. After having an argument with him, he told me to find a board-certified plastic surgeon that would have done things differently and have them write a letter and he will refund my money. I went to 4 surgeons who all agreed they would have never used such a large implant on someone like me with such a small frame. But all said that it is against their code to write letters to other doctors saying that their work is wrong (guessing this is why Dr. H told me to do this). But I got documentation from a surgeon saying that my implants don't fit my chest and go back to my side ribs. I also found a statement on RealSelf where a doctor stated that for patients with a 32-34 bra band, that it only takes 100ccs to go up one up size, so for me to go up 1-1.5 cup sizes I should have gone to 400-450 which is exactly what I went in there asking for and was saying I would not achieve my desired results. But of course, still no refund!
Dr. H will be nice..UNTIL you contact him after the surgery with any concerns or anything you aren't happy with. He will blame everything on the patient and accept no responsibility himself. Exact quote to me "whenever you grow up one day and become the best boob surgeon in the world, then you can tell me that Im wrong." Just a very arrogant surgeon who doesn't genuinely care about his patient's happiness. When choosing a surgeon, find one that genuinely cares about the patient and making sure that the patient is happy with the end result. I am shock with the level of unprofessionalism shown by Dr. H. I am now going to have to pay double what I paid Dr. H for a surgeon to fix his mistake and have a more invasive surgery.
There are so many really good surgeons out there. I had a great boob job for 10 years before going to see Dr. Hochstein. I regret that decision every day and wish I could change it, but decided I would at least try to help others to not have to go thru what Ive been through. If you have any questions or want to talk more in detail about what happened, I am more than happy to talk to anyone. Just message me !

heather722's provider

Leonard Hochstein, MD - Account Suspended

Leonard Hochstein, MD - Account Suspended

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

heather722 rating for Dr. Hochstein:

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
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Replies (56)

March 5, 2016
Sorry you are so unhappy. Will you be having a third revision? Do you have before and after pictures? Other than the size, do you have any other issues with the work itself?
March 8, 2016
Yes I will be having a revision as soon as I can afford it. Other issues are bc of the size of the implant. I have bottoming out :(
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November 6, 2019
Not that what I have to say is gonna hell but I had surgery a little over a year ago and told my surgeon the look I was going for as wanted to be smaller and left the implant size up to him. I told him since he was the professional I would leave it up to him. I left with larger implants then what I had going in with breast that are deformed. He is blaming me for the size and I said I didn't choose and blaming my other Dr for the mess he made!! Unfortunately this happens all to often and the patient is left with the cost of repairs etc. I am now on a journey to find a new Dr to fix this mess.
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March 7, 2016
Every patient I consult with about breast augmentation I ask two questions. What size are you now and what size you would like to be. In this case the answer was starting as a small C and going to a mid D although from emails the desired goal was mid to full D. We agreed that this patient wanted to be 1 1/2 cups larger. My formula is that every cup size equals roughly 150cc of volume which is slightly less than the data based on cup size research. The link to the research is http://www.breastimplants4you.com/breast_implant_faq.htm. Since she thought her largest implant was 315cc I expected a 500 to 550cc implant would achieve this goal. The patient agreed to use the 500cc as the maximum sized implant regardless of her starting point. I believe this is dangerous as the implant fill volumes are not always what the patient thinks they are. In this case this turned out to be the case. The larger implant turned out to be 350cc, not the 315cc as she thought. I did not adjust to a larger size as I agreed not to go above 500cc. I saw the patient the next day at which point the result was excellent. She was cleared to fly home that next day which is the norm and I asked her to send another picture 2-3 weeks after the surgery to follow her progress. We continued our follow up by phone and had 5-6 interactions with her. At no point did she tells us that she was dissatisfied with any aspect of her surgery and she even talked to another patient about having surgery here. We did not hear from this patient again for about 3 years at which point she told me I made mistakes with her surgery and used the wrong implants and that I should have used 400cc implants and that because I did not I should redo them for free. I fully understand that patients can change their minds about their size and I offer to replace them for half price within a year but this call was almost 3 YEARS after the surgery without any prior complaints.. I tried to explain the rationale of the size and pointed out the pictures did not demonstrate a result that was more than 1 1/2 cup larger but this went about as well as you might expect. I ended the conversation that if she could get any plastic surgeon to agree that using an implant only 50cc greater than what she had starting out would give her a 1 1/2 cup size larger result I would refund her money. I knew this was impossible simply because it is a ridiculous statement, not that any surgeon would not agree to write it. She was able to find someone who wrote that each cup size is only 100cc. I do not agree with that figure but simply wrote back that if one cup was 100cc then 1 1/2 would have to be 150cc and if that is added to her 350cc implant what the implant size I should have used should be? I received no response to that question. Instead I got this review. I , too, regret that this patient came to me and I wish she would post the pictures of her result so that everyone could see what was done but that will never happen because the results are excellent. I have also never yelled at a patient and did not do so in this case. What would be the point? I would, however like to hear from the realsef community. Should I have given her a refund? Let me know.

Leonard M Hochstein MD
March 8, 2016
Several things are not true about that post.
1) I NEVER said Full D. It is not on my medical documents and it was something I stressed that i did NOT want.
2) Your office did know that I wasn't happy with the size because I was asked to be a reference and I disclosed how I was persuaded into getting a much bigger size and was not happy about it. Was never asked to be a reference again. I also said I have documentation that I went to several other surgeons about downsizing within months of the original surgery.
3) He never offered to fix them for half off. He said I could have a 10% discount. I have email documentation of this.
4) In my preop he recommended 200-250ccs larger. Said later that the implant was 350cc, but I have my documentation from my original doctor stating they were 300&315 so guessing this was just his excuse to why he used such a big implant. Even tho this is irrelevant bc he recommended 200-250 when he thought I had 300s.
5) He did call and yell at me and does talk down to his patients. Just read some of the other negative reviews on here. There aren't any reviews in which a patient wasn't happy and he offered to fix it without charging the patient again.
March 15, 2016
He absolutely does talk down to his patients. I am one of them and I regret ever going to him. I feel like I'm living a nightmare. He is, hands down, the most unprofessional Doctor I have personally ever met. I've paid over $30k reversing the damage from his butcher-like rhinoplasty. He literally destroyed my face.
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March 15, 2016
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March 26, 2016
I dont think you should have given her a refund, unless you took out the implants first. But that also would be another surgery! So why, just because she changed her mind on size 3 years later, does that mean that everyone that regrets the size they agreed upon will get free surgery? Ummm no that just dont happen. Also anybody can SAY anything, but unless they have evidence to back it up I personally wont believe it. Where are her pictures? And if she wants to just put it behind her why is she on here? Everyone's frame is different. And if there's one thing I have learned from RealSelf its that the same number of cc's is going to look different on EVERYONE.
Im thinking of going to Jacksonville for my BA or to you Dr. Hochstein. The only reason im leaning more towards the doctor in Jacksonville is bc it sounds like your not very nice.
March 26, 2016
I did not change my mind 3 years later. I began going to consults 2 months post op in my city and also gave honest references whenever they had a potential patient call me about my results with Dr Hochstein. I told them that he pushed me to go bigger saying the size I was asking for wouldn't be big enough. Since the surgery I have seen several doctors that ALL said they would have never used such a big implant BC my frame is so small.

Does everyone that posts either a negative or positive review have to post pictures for evidence? This is a place to post you're experience. I have said if someone is really interested in going to Dr Hochstein and would like to discuss on the phone, I would be open to sending pics. I just do not want to post pics that will be on line forever.
April 16, 2016
Ok but did you really say "whenever you grow up one day and become the best boob surgeon in the world, then you can tell me that Im wrong." Because that is a FANTASTIC way to get your face slapped. Even if it meant taking a flight to do it. You better be carful working on women.
May 23, 2016
Who are you thinking about in Jacksonville ??? I wanted to get breast lift with implants with Dr H but after reading some of the negative reviews, I think I'm going to look into other PS
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July 15, 2016
It is clear that heather is unhappy with her results. I do think that at least you could do is try to understand her concerns. I wasn't completely happy with my results of my reduction but my PS was compationate and he listened. That makes a world of a difference. Respect and kindness goes a long way...
August 23, 2021
Girl...just no!
August 23, 2021
I'm sorry, but as a medical professional credentialed by the Texas Medical Board, I believe you could have done a better job in showing your compassionate side, if you have one. I work with so many MDs that believe they are God & cannot be touched. The way people & patient's are spoken to is so disgusting. I just can't see this young lady making up a lie that you mentioned her growing up one day & becoming a top surgeon being the only way that she'd qualify to tell you that you're wrong. That's a grown woman you're dealing with & it's her body. One doesn't need to be a "top" surgeon to know if something isn't right. That's such a disrespectful thing to say. Do I feel that you owe her a refund? I believe that you should have accommodated her to where she could afford to correct the issue. Although you're a surgeon, you have absolutely no idea what it is to be a woman. To stretch that further, you have no idea how it feel to be a woman unhappy with your appearance, find & trust a surgeon to correct the issue, & wake up unhappier than when you arrived. It can send you into a deep depression. You have a wife & I'm not sure if you have children, but you would not want someone to mistreat you wife or daughters this way. There are other patients that state you have spoken to them in a nasty way. The social media community is big & I believe it can make or break you. I do wish you all the best.l
March 8, 2016
March 8, 2016
March 8, 2016
March 8, 2016
Whenever you put your trust in a surgeon and they give you bad advice, they shouldn't charge you to fix it. I have a 30 inch band and 500cc implants do not even fit on my chest without going to the side of my ribs. I have seen several surgeons who have all said they would never use an implant this big on someone my size. I think you just feel sorry for him bc you work for him and have to listen to him complain about my review at work.
March 8, 2016
https://www.realself.com/question/500cc-breast-implants-body-type

Please read some doctor's statements about using a 500cc implant on someone with a very small frame like myself.
March 8, 2016
March 9, 2016
so you made a realself account yesterday just to post on here and you don't work for him? yeah ok.. this website is for people to leave their experiences. This is my honest review and its not that different from a lot of the other negative reviews he has on here. There are several other reviews on here saying that the patient were really unhappy with their results, told him that they did not like the results and he told them he would charge them to fix it. Also, that he was rude and talked down to them. So Im not the first patient that has had the same issues with him.